“That was best team that LeBron was on that never won title, and that was because of Kevin Durant" - NBA analyst says Charles Barkley needs to review footage of 2017 Warriors team, claims KD was "bus driver"
The back-and-forth between Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley was one of the biggest talking points earlier in the season. Barkley made headlines when he said that Durant was not the best player on the two championship-winning teams that he was a part of.
On ESPN's "Get Up," NBA analyst Brian Windhorst spoke about how Charles Barkley was wrong in his assessment. He believes Barkley needs to review the tape from the 2017 season and see how dominant Durant and the Golden State Warriors were. Golden State won the championship in 2017 with Durant picking up the Finals MVP award after beating LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals.
"I respect Charles Barkley greatly, but he needs to review the 2017 tape. Kevin Durant was the bus driver of that championship. That was the best team that LeBron was on that never won the title, and that was because of Kevin Durant."
Barkley made these comments after Durant and the Brooklyn Nets came under immense scrutiny in the postseason this year. They were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round despite having Durant and Kyrie Irving on the floor in all four games.
.@WindhorstESPN weighs in on Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley's comments on Twitter 👀
"I respect Charles Barkley greatly, but he needs to review the 2017 tape. He was the bus driver of that championship." https://t.co/joVWclqtDW
Were the Warriors Kevin Durant's team?
The Chicago Bulls were Michael Jordan's team, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were LeBron James' team. However, the Golden State Warriors were not Kevin Durant's team because of the existence of Steph Curry.
Kevin Durant joined the Warriors in the summer of 2016, shortly after his OKC Thunder team squandered a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals against Curry and company.
The "Slim Reaper" was the best player on the Warriors team. He won Finals MVP in back-to-back seasons, leading the Warriors to two titles. He missed the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, which Golden State lost, due to an Achilles injury.
Despite his achievements with the team, Golden State Warriors will always be Steph Curry's franchise. They were seemingly headed nowhere when they drafted the guard in 2009 with the seventh pick. They have since had a remarkable change in fortunes.
They assembled one of the greatest teams in the history of the league by drafting Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, with the trio winning four titles together, two of them without Durant.